My Food Answers

I was asked what my answers would be to my Fellow Foodie Fun questions. So I thought I'd go ahead and post them here. :)

#1 Spinach

1. What food did you once hate (as a child or even more recently) that you have found an appreciate for and now enjoy? The first thing that came to mind was spinach. I hated spinach growing up, but mostly because of HOW my mother would prepare it. She loves it sauteed and wilted with no life left in it and bathed in butter and salt. I remember just swallowing it whole to get it down. Now, however, as an adult I've realized I like FRESH spinach. Spinach salads, on sandwiches, even slightly wilted in pastas. I still can't do the "creamed" spinach my mother loves though.

#2 Eggs Benedict

2. What do you normally order when going out to breakfast/brunch?That's an easy one. Eggs Benedict. I'm a sucker for properly poached eggs and you can bet if Eggs Benedict is on the menu I'll order it.

3. What is your favorite late-night snack? It really depends on if I am craving something sweet or salty? But if it's just a matter of not full from dinner and want a little something it'd either be peanut butter toast or a bowl of cereal.

#4 Pasta

4. What is the one dish you wish you could cook, but haven't yet mastered? I'd love to learn how to make fresh pasta. Right now though I have such a tiny kitchen and no real counter space it's kind of difficult.

5. What is your favorite restaurant? Where is it located and what is your favorite dish on their menu? I'm not sure if I have one ultimate favorite....I have favorites based on where I am/was living. When I lived in San Diego my go-to place was Spread, in North Park, they had a savory french toast that was killer. When I was in school it was Cuca's and their chicken rice burritos; I am still such a fan that when my aunt came up last summer we made her bring some with her. Now, living in Portland, I don't know if I have a "favorite"...I have a couple places...Departure and Ping would be the two if I had to pick (and I've blogged about Ping before).

#5 Ping

6. Who taught you how to cook? My mother (mostly) and both my grandmothers. The women in my family can cook and ever since I could stand on a chair to reach the counters they put a spoon in my hand to help. Best way to learn.

7. What is the worst cooking disaster you've ever caused? I remember once, I was maybe thirteen, I was asked to make jello and didn't put nearly enough water in. The whole thing was maybe an inch think and way gross. As an adult...nothing I would consider a disaster just things that didn't come out right. Like the Honey Cupcakes.

#8 Fish Tacos

8. What did you have for dinner last night? Homemade fish tacos.

9. What restaurant do you want to eat at and haven't? Okay, if we're talking dream meal I'd have to say I'd love to go to the French Laundry and eat anything Thomas Keller put in front of me. ::drooool::

#10 Gorgonzola Fries

10. What is your guilty-pleasure food item? Oh, normally I'd probably say "chocolate" in any shape or form. But the other night my mother and I had dinner at the Portland Seafood Company and we ordered their Gorgonzola Fries...HOLY CRAP! I wanted to LICK. THE. PLATE. Amazing. I've even gone out and bought fries to make my own at home (of course though I forgot the Gorgonzola.)

#11 Dim Sum

11. What food item/dish do you just love that your family/friends can't/won't try? Either sushi or dim sum. When I'm craving sushi I have to go out with coworkers because I can't get my family to eat it at all (although I did find out my sister's boyfriend is a fan, so we're going to find a Japanese restaurant that serves sushi and or teriyaki something for the haters). And then there's dim sum. I've taken my mother once and she hated everything we got - except the sticky rice and fried spring rolls.

#12 & 13 Chocolate Cream Pie

12. Cake or Pie? What kind? I think I'm going to have to go pie....but I like cream pies mostly. Chocolate cream. French silk. My favorite cake is Boston Cream "Pie" haha.

13. If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would be your last meal? Probably my grandmother's fried chicken, a side order of biscuits with gravy and a slice of chocolate cream pie for dessert.

Foodie? Prove It

Fried Alligator

A fellow foodie friend posted an app she'd found on facebook. It's a checklist of 100 top foods to eat before you die. Apparently, according to the application, (which we know can be as factual as this weeks tabloids) most people have only tried 20 (or less) of these 100 foods.

I've had 63... Does that mean it's okay to call myself a foodie? :)

Bagel and lox

Abalone
Absinthe
Alligator
Baba Ghanoush
Bagel & Lox
Baklava
BBQ Ribs
Billini
Bird's Nest Soup
Biscuits & Gravy
Black Pudding
Black Truffle
Borscht

Durian (on my patio furniture)

Spring Rolls

Calamari
Carp
Caviar 
Cheese Fondue
Chicken & Waffles
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chile Relleno
Chitlins
Churros
Clam Chowder
Cognac
Crab Cakes
Crickets
Currywurst
Dandelion Wine
Dulce de Leche
Durian
Eel
Eggs Benedict
Fish Tacos
Foie Gras
Fresh Spring Rolls
Fried Catfish
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Plantain
Frito Pie

All kinds of lobster pieces. Mmmm

Frog Legs
Fugu
Funnel Cake
Gazpacho
Goat
Goat's Milk
Goulash
Gumbo
Haggis
Head Cheese
Heirloom Tomatoes
Honeycomb
Hostess Fruit Pie
Huevos Rancheros
Jerk Chicken
Kangaroo
Key Lime Pie
Kobe Beef
Lassi

Pho. I make this at home even.

Lobster
Mimosa
Moonpie
Morel Mushrooms
Nettle Tea
Octopus
Oxtail Soup
Paella
Paneer
Pastrami on Rye
Pavlova
Phaal
Philly Cheese Steak
Pho

My one and only time trying uni (sea urchin)...far right

Pineapple & Cottage Cheese
Pistachio Ice Cream
Po'Boy
Pocky
Polenta
Prickly Pear
Rabbit Stew
Raw Oysters
Root Beer Float
S'mores
Sauerkraut
Sea Urchin
Shark

First time for spaetzle too. So good.

Snail
Snake
Soft Shell Crab
Som Tam
Spaetzle
Spam
Squirrel
Steak Tartare
Sweet Potato Fries
Sweetbreads
Tom Yum
Umeboshi
Venison
Wasabi Peas
Zucchini flowers

How many have you tried?

Attention Sushi Lovers!

Radiation in Your Food: Is It Worth Worrying About?
Caroline Russock
Mar 28, 2011 (ivillage.com)

The nuclear crisis in Japan has many concerned about the safety of imported foods. Although Japanese imports only make up about 4 percent of the foods brought into this country, the question of contaminated foods still lingers, especially when it comes to sushi. Higher-end establishments have been known to import top quality fish from Japan, but for the most part the fish served at the majority of sushi counters is not Japanese in origin.

Experts say that Japanese seafood is at a far lower risk of contamination due to the fact that any possible radiation is diluted to trace amounts in large bodies of water. But even with the dilution, nearly all sushi restaurants have eliminated Japanese seafood from their menus. Long story short? Feel free to enjoy all the sushi you'd like. This style of eating might have been created in Japan, but the fish is coming from other waters.

Other import worries come from evidence of extremely high levels of radiation found in spinach, milk and canola grown near the Fukushima plant. To counter any possibility of contaminated foods entering the U.S., last week the F.D.A. put a temporary ban on the importing of food coming from the areas surrounding the plant. The F.D.A. is also screening all foods imported from Japan before being sold to the public. If that's not enough to put your mind at ease, consider also that since 9/11, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S.D.A. has been screening virtually all imports to this country, including all food items. All of these precautions make the chances of contaminated foods making their way into our shores pretty slim.

Still concerned with the possibility of coming in contact with contaminated food? To put all of this worry into perspective, one expert says that you'd have to consume a gallon of contaminated milk each day for one year to absorb as much radiation as you do during a CAT scan, making radiation contamination through food highly unlikely.

Tsunami Alters Sushi Markets

By Florence Fabricant
NYTimes

Seafood supplies in northern Japan were devastated by the tsunami that destroyed the region’s fishing fleets and aquaculture farms as well as the ports themselves. The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun reported on Tuesday that fishermen in the area are living in shelters, transportation to the famous Tsukiji market in Tokyo is not possible, and there is no ice to keep fish fresh.

So far, this grim picture is not causing serious shortages in American sushi bars, but how the situation will evolve remains to be seen.

“It has definitely affected the market,” said Jack Lamb, an owner of Jewel Bako in the East Village, where most of the fish is imported from Japan. But he said that the restaurant had made adjustments and was now buying fish from Kyushu Island in the south, far from the affected area, and was obtaining mackerel and octopus from sources in the United States.

Nobuyoshi Kuraoka, the owner of Nippon, a restaurant in Midtown, wrote by e-mail from Tokyo, where he was on business, that the “striped jack, yellowtail, sniper fish, sea eels and others are coming from Fukuoka on Kyushu Island through Korean airlines.”

Tadashi Ono, the chef and a partner at Matsuri in Chelsea, also said he is buying from Kyushu, as well as from Australian and New York waters. “Today fish comes from all over the world, so we’re O.K.,” he said.

There have been reports that restaurants and hotels in Asia and elsewhere have canceled all shipments of fresh produce from Japan after radiation turned up in products like milk and spinach.

But restaurateurs in New York said they import almost no fresh produce from Japan. They have also said that their customers do not seem worried. At Sushi Yasuda in Midtown, Scott Rosenberg, an owner, said that just a few customers have asked where the fish was from and whether it was safe. As for produce, he said that occasionally the chefs bring in highly specialized seasonal items, but it’s not the season now.

“We have great microgreens and all those things growing here,” said Richie Notar, a partner in the Nobu chain. “We don’t need to buy from Japan. We have California.” But he is keeping an eye on the supply of imported dry goods, including rice, nori and bonito flakes. “We’re starting to develop other sources, like South Korea, for some of these,” he said. “Our wholesalers have warehouses that are stocked, but who knows what the situation will be in six months in terms of availability or even safety from radiation?”

Reika Alexander, the owner of En Japanese Brasserie in the West Village, said: “We must keep buying what we can from Japan. We need to support Japan now.”

Sushi Overload

Happy New Year!

I spent part of my holiday break down in Oakland visiting a good friend of mine. During my week I went on what could only be considered a "I want to get mercury poisoning" sushi binge fest. 2 of the 5 nights I was there we went out for sushi. Now some of it was wonderful and some of it just didn't float my boat...as it were. 

The first place we went to neither of us had been before (we found a Groupon for the place so we figured why not). Their website recommended making reservations - so we did - although when we got there most of the bar was open and a number of tables so I don't think it was necessary (we went on a Thursday night). 

Pictures from Tachibana:

Maybe it was our reservations that got us the good view?

Seaweed salad. If it's on the menu I'm going to order it.

Where to even begin?
The top is a Caterpillar roll,
next (L to R) is Ana Kyu, Una Kyu and Uni,
then the bottom roll is some type of crunchy roll.

My dining companion's favorite - Cherry Blossom Roll

Somehow we managed to still be hungry
(and afterall we had a minimum we had to eat for the Groupon).
So we went the nigiri route.

(L to R) Halibut, Scallops, Yellow tale

Then Eel two ways. (L) Anago and (R) Unagi (my favorites)

Lately I've been in this "adventurous" eating mood. To quote Bizarre Food's Andrew Zimmern "If it looks good - eat it" and I have been.

So when I told my beau I was going out for sushi he asked if I was going to try Uni (Sea urchin and his favorite). My answer? 

Of course!

So from there began a long series of text messages with recommendations and suggestions (i.e. most of the nigiri platter above).

*     *     *

A few days later, with my sushi craving having not been satisfied, we went for round two. This time we had plans to visit a place with bottomless sake; unfortunately they were closed for the holidays. So we went a bit further down the road to another location.

I'd been to this sushi place before and while the food wasn't bad it also wasn't that impressive.

Photos from the "other" sushi bar:

They called this a "crispy roll" (crab and avocado) however it was more like a deep fried sushi doughnut. Not what I expected. I thought at most they'd have seared the outside rice but this had a batter coated around the sushi individually cut sushi pieces and then deep friend. More than I could handle.

Being her favorite we went ahead and ordered a Cherry Blossom Roll from this establishment. It was fine - but I think I preferred the Tachibana's

So here we have a roll named after the sushi bar...tempura shrimp on the inside with unagi and avocado on the top. Something wasn't right with the first bite. It left a soapy taste in my mouth - like when a cup or fork isn't rinsed properly. 

So I tried another piece....no soap taste...but there it was on the third...it was driving me crazy!

So I dissected my last bite. First I ate the shrimp and rice...tasted fine. Then I tried the avocado...nothing wrong. Last bite was the unagi! Yep, there it is. Something wasn't right. Complete sadness. My favorite piece and it was tainted! 

Even though I had a tainted taste in my mouth from the last roll we still were looking for something a little more. So my dining companion ordered a "49er Roll". Thank goodness for a fresh and slightly sweet salmon on top.

The last roll we tried was (sort of) recommended by my significant other. He suggested I try a Salmon Skin Hand roll. Well being me I forgot the "Hand roll" part and got it in a Maki roll instead. The salmon skin was hard to taste at first but gave a nice salty aftertaste to the roll. I picked apart one to try the salmon skin by itself and I loved it...maybe next time I'll remember to get it as a hand roll instead.

In the end, while mercury poisoning did not occur, I satisfied my sushi craving for the moment.